Black Metal and Viking Metal Metal music offers a unique cultural experience that many other genres fail to match. Over the past three decades’ metal has evolved from a derivative of hard-rock to a genre of its own with dozens of sub-genres. Despite this diversity, each sub-genre has uniqueness in style of sound, rebellion, and passion. All three of these traits originally developed from the negative connotations presented by prior societal conservatism. However, the passion that many fans have for metal can sometimes spill over into violence.
While certainly not exclusive to the sub-genre, Black Metal is perhaps the most unique in this trait. Like most metal sub-genres, Black Metal retains a strong sense of rebellion. However, Black Metal 's rebellion is more focused on the imposition of Christian imperialism than societal scrutiny. A more pronounced example of how passionate Black Metal musicians and fans are toward this rebellion is the tendency toward physical violence. Examples vary, but none are more pronounced than the numerous church burnings throughout Scandinavian history.
Through this influx of defiance toward Christianity, many Black Metal musicians focus on Satanism as the primary subject matter of their
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While Norse mythology is a strong influence to many Viking Metal songs (hence the name) the musicians show a great affinity toward drinking, love, and general adventure. The songs themselves are often less aggressive and more upbeat and energetic as well as retaining less growling and screaming that most metal sub-genres are known for. Given the lyrical themes, Viking Metal may have always been more concerned with upholding traditions of the old ways of the Scandinavian peoples. Whether this is in defiance toward contemporary views or simply nostalgia of their unique culture is subject for